Las Vegas home prices post annual 8.4 percent gain
Las Vegas home prices posted an
8.4 percent one-year gain in October, and a 2.8 percent increase from September, the strongest one-month gain in the Case-Shiller's Home Price Index released Wednesday.
The index showed prices in the 20-city composite rose 4.3 percent in the 12 months ended in October, outdistancing analysts' forecasts.
Phoenix home prices rose for the 13th month in a row. San Diego was second-best with nine consecutive monthly gains.
"Looking over this report and considering other data on housing starts and sales, it is clear that the housing recovery is gathering strength," Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index committee Chairman David Blitzer said.
The 10-city and 20-city composites both recorded respective annual returns of 3.4 percent and 4.3 percent in October, larger than the gains posted for September. Chicago and New York were the only two cities with negative annual returns in October.
Anticipated seasonal weakness appeared as 12 of the 20 cities posted monthly declines in home prices in October.
"Annual rates of change in home prices are a better indicator of the performance of the housing market than the month-over-month changes because home prices tend to be lower in fall and winter than in spring and summer," Blitzer said.
Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research reported a 7.4 percent annual increase in new-home median prices in November at $219,285, and a 16.6 percent annual increase in existing-home median prices at $133,000.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors showed median home prices rising for nine consecutive months in 2012, with one month of flat prices.
As of October, average home prices across the United States are back to fall 2003 levels for both the 10-city and 20-city composites in the Case-Shiller index.
Las Vegas was one of only seven U.S. cities that recorded positive monthly gains. With an index reading of 100.14 in October, Las Vegas finally recovered to a level above its January 2000 figure. Atlanta and Detroit remain as the only two cities below their January 2000 levels.
Higher year-over-year price gains in California and throughout the Southwest - regions that suffered the most during the housing bust - confirm that housing is now contributing to the economy, Blitzer said.
"One indication of the rebound is the gains from the bottom," he said.
The largest rebound is 24.2 percent in Detroit, though prices there remain 20 percent lower than 12 years ago. San Francisco and Phoenix have rebounded by 22.5 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively.
The smallest recoveries are in Boston and New York, cities in the Northeast that suffered smaller losses than the Sun Belt or California, Blitzer said.
The big question in Las Vegas is how many foreclosures will be released by lenders and how often, Home Builders Research President Dennis Smith said.
"As long as investors can capture acceptable rental rates and speculators believe they can hold and sell properties for satisfactory returns, the additional inventory of foreclosures should not cause an undue amount of distress to our housing market," Smith said.
A nationwide panel of more than 100 professional forecasters expects home prices to rise 3.1 percent in 2013 after finishing 2012 up more than 4.6 percent, reflecting growing optimism in the housing market, a December survey released Wednesday by Zillow.com shows.
Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.
